Sonnets. I
Sonnets. I
Poems
Original Text
"Sonnets. I," Poems (Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1864): 26. Internet Archive
1The starry flower, the flower-like stars that fade
2And brighten with the daylight and the dark, --
4And glimmering crags with laurel overlaid,
5Even to the Lord of light, the Lamp of shade,
6Shine one to me, -- the least, still glorious made
8And, so, dim grassy flower, and night-lit spark,
9Still move me on and upward for the True;
10Seeking through change, growth, death, in new and old.
11The full in few, the statelier in the less,
12With patient pain; always remembering this, --
13His hand, who touched the sod with showers of gold,
Notes
3] bluet: houstonia, four-petalled star-like flower native to North America; or Oldenlandia cærulea, "a delicate little herb producing in spring a profusion of light blue flowers fading to white, with a yellowish eye" (OED). Back to Line
7] hierarch: Christ. Back to Line
14] Orion: constellation named after a hunter in Greek mythology, visible at night in the northern hemisphere, with three prominent bright stars termed Orion's "belt." Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1860
RPO poem Editors
Data entry: Sharine Leung
RPO Edition
2012
Rhyme
Form